This chapter is an overview of the notion of incarnational thinking in Hasidism. It traces this idea through a series of early Hasidic texts to suggest that Hasidic literature moves top the edges and ...
More

This chapter is an overview of the notion of incarnational thinking in Hasidism. It traces this idea through a series of early Hasidic texts to suggest that Hasidic literature moves top the edges and in some cases crosses over into blatant incarnational thinking regarding its depiction of the biblical figures and the Hasidic zaddik. The chapter begins by surveying modern Jewish philosophers who are influenced by Moses Maimonides in readers to Jewish conceptions of monotheism, It then proceeds to show through close readings of Hasidic texts that Maimonides notion of monotheism was not adopted by these Hasidic writers. Quite the opposite, they seemed either oblivious or openly resistant to the radical transcendent God of Maimonides that stands at the center of Maimonides thinking and, more significant for my concerns, the project of Modern Jewish philosophy.Less

Divinization and Incarnational Thinking Inhasidism : An Overview

Shaul Magid

Published in print: 2014-12-10

This chapter is an overview of the notion of incarnational thinking in Hasidism. It traces this idea through a series of early Hasidic texts to suggest that Hasidic literature moves top the edges and in some cases crosses over into blatant incarnational thinking regarding its depiction of the biblical figures and the Hasidic zaddik. The chapter begins by surveying modern Jewish philosophers who are influenced by Moses Maimonides in readers to Jewish conceptions of monotheism, It then proceeds to show through close readings of Hasidic texts that Maimonides notion of monotheism was not adopted by these Hasidic writers. Quite the opposite, they seemed either oblivious or openly resistant to the radical transcendent God of Maimonides that stands at the center of Maimonides thinking and, more significant for my concerns, the project of Modern Jewish philosophy.

Hasidism Incarnate argues that much of modern Judaism in the west developed under what it calls a “Christian gaze,” that is, reacting to Christianity by defending Judaism, positing that Judaism is ...
More

Hasidism Incarnate argues that much of modern Judaism in the west developed under what it calls a “Christian gaze,” that is, reacting to Christianity by defending Judaism, positing that Judaism is unlike Christianity. This is done, ironically, while modern Judaism is being constructed as quite similar to Christianity in terms of its ethos, aesthetics, and attitude toward ritual and faith. Hasidism, unlike Judaism in Western Europe, is not developing under a “Christian gaze” and thus does not need to be apologetic of its positions. Free from an apologetic agenda (at least toward Christianity) what we find in Hasidism is a particular reading of medieval Jewish Kabbalah filtered through a focus on the charismatic leader that produces a religious world-view that shares a great deal with basic tenets of Christianity. This is because the basic many of the basic tenets of Christianity remained present, albeit often veiled, in much of kabbalistic teaching that was adopted in Hasidism to portray its notion of the charismatic figure (zaddik), often in supernatural terms. Hasidism Incarnate offer close readings of classical Hasidic texts to show the “Christian” tropes, which may have originally been “Jewish,” that lie beneath the surface of this multi-layered and textured literature.Less

Hasidism Incarnate : Hasidism, Christianity, and the Construction of Modern Judaism

Shaul Magid

Published in print: 2014-12-10

Hasidism Incarnate argues that much of modern Judaism in the west developed under what it calls a “Christian gaze,” that is, reacting to Christianity by defending Judaism, positing that Judaism is unlike Christianity. This is done, ironically, while modern Judaism is being constructed as quite similar to Christianity in terms of its ethos, aesthetics, and attitude toward ritual and faith. Hasidism, unlike Judaism in Western Europe, is not developing under a “Christian gaze” and thus does not need to be apologetic of its positions. Free from an apologetic agenda (at least toward Christianity) what we find in Hasidism is a particular reading of medieval Jewish Kabbalah filtered through a focus on the charismatic leader that produces a religious world-view that shares a great deal with basic tenets of Christianity. This is because the basic many of the basic tenets of Christianity remained present, albeit often veiled, in much of kabbalistic teaching that was adopted in Hasidism to portray its notion of the charismatic figure (zaddik), often in supernatural terms. Hasidism Incarnate offer close readings of classical Hasidic texts to show the “Christian” tropes, which may have originally been “Jewish,” that lie beneath the surface of this multi-layered and textured literature.